‘AITA for refusing to train my replacement after being passed over for a promotion?’

The internet is rallying behind a woman who refused to train the man who took the promotion she was passed over for.

The debate unfolded on Reddit’s ‘Am I The A**hole' forum where the original poster (OP) shared her frustration after being overlooked for a higher position at work, only to be asked to train the person who got the job instead, per Someecards.com.

Woman refuses to train man who got promoted to position she had applied for

In the Reddit post titled, “AITA for refusing to train my replacement after being passed over for a promotion?”, a 29-year-old woman, explained, "I (29F) have been working at my company for five years. Recently, a promotion opened up that I was heavily encouraged to apply for. I did multiple interviews, got good feedback, and honestly thought I had a strong shot. Then, out of nowhere, they gave the role to Dave (34M), a guy who has been here for just over a year."

The official reason the woman was given was that Dave had more leadership experience. However, the OP pointed out that up until last month, Dave was coming to her for help on projects.

"It stung, but I was ready to move on, until my manager asked me to "help bring Dave up to speed" on my tasks. Apparently, I’d be shifting into more of a support role under him," the OP fumed.

She refused saying, "I flat-out said no. I told them if I wasn’t qualified enough to be promoted, then I wasn’t qualified enough to train him either. My manager looked genuinely shocked and said I was being short-sighted and unprofessional."

Things escalated when HR got involved, implying that her refusal could impact her future at the company.

"HR even pulled me aside and implied that refusing could impact my future here. But at this point, I’m already job hunting, so I just keep doing my usual work while they scramble to get Dave up to speed. Some coworkers think I’m justified, while others (including Dave) feel like I’m being petty. AITA?" she asked.

Internet backs woman while slamming 'shortsighted mindset of corporate'

Reddit​ users overwhelmingly voted NTA (Not The A**hole) and slammed the OP’s company for their hypocrisy.

One top comment read, “NTA. In the shortsighted mindset of corporate... If you make yourself irreplacable, you become unpromotable.” 

Another user wrote, “NTA. Corporate logic at its finest if they can’t replace you, they’ll never promote you."

A third user said, "NTA, and LOL on HR. Impact your future? Like being passed over for someone less qualified didn't already have an impact. Sounds like it's time for Dave to show off all his "leadership" skills while you focus on finding a new job. Also, unless it is part of your regular job duties, they can't legally fire you for not training your replacement. That's HR's job."

"HR trying to guilt-trip OP when they’re the ones screwing them over**.** They already showed her how much they value them, time to return the favor by walking away." a user said. 

Another commented, "She be training her SUPERIOR…..that’s what blows my mind. She said replacement, but he’s in a higher position where she’d report to him. I’d do exactly as OP is doing….she shouldn’t be expected to train a higher up. OP, NTA. Good on you for how you handled the situation and what you said. HR is there to protect the company and not employees and their actions just showed you that. Search for a new job, and I would make sure you use up all you vacay and PTO/sick time when you find one then quit with little to no notice."

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